Benny Napoleon: Detroit can be great again, but must face harsh realities of fiscal crisis

Mar. 6, 2013

Written by

Benny Napoleon

Detroit Free Press guest writer

Benny Napoleon, Wayne County Sheriff and potential mayoral candidate

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Detroit is at a crossroads: Either we take the path often traveled and continue to ignore how dire our beloved city's financial situation is, or we can take the path less traveled and accept the fact that we are in a place that demands tough and immediate decisions.

Desperately clinging to a city that once was home to 2 million residents spread out over 140 square miles, we missed our opportunity to right-size during good economic times. And when our nation's economy turned downward, we were left with expenditures that far exceeded the city's general fund revenue.

Instead of being honest with Detroiters about the city's fiscal crisis as it grew, we continued to turn to the bond market, borrowing money just to pay the bills and avoid payless paydays. We weren't floating bonds to invest in our aging infrastructure, to invest in public safety, and certainly not to provide Detroiters with improved city services. We were simply paying bills the city's checkbook couldn't cover.

Fast forward to 2013. Gov. Rick Snyder has announced that he intends to appoint an emergency financial manager in Detroit. And while I campaigned fiercely to repeal Public Act 4 last year because I believe local communities have a constitutional right to self-determination, I also recognize that there are fiscal challenges that need to be addressed. The proverbial "can" we have been kicking has made it to the end of the road.

By the review team's account, Detroit faces an estimated $327 million accumulated deficit and long-term debts of more than $14 billion. Until proved otherwise, I firmly believe that the state review team erred in its inclusion of $6.1 billion of debt held by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, because it is an enterprise department with no impact to the city's general fund. It also has $8 billion in assets to secure that debt. What is not debatable is that Detroit has a structural deficit and long-term debt obligations that are preventing this city from turning the corner.

From 2000 to 2013, we have cut the city's workforce from 21,000 to fewer than 10,000. Annual 10% cuts to wages and added furlough days for workers can't plug these gaping fiscal holes. We cannot cut our way to solvency. We have already cut our city to the bone, and all that is left is the marrow.

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It is time that we take a hard, realistic look at who we are as a city and embrace the fact that we are not the city we used to be -- but we can be the city we aspire to be. We can no longer be the 2 million-resident city, but we can be the best 700,000-resident city we can be.

That will take real solutions for this very real fiscal crisis. We can be a city that is safe and a city with an expanded economy that provides jobs and job training for new and emerging industries. We can be a city with thriving, livable, walkable and sustainable neighborhoods. And we can be a city that gives taxpayers a return on their tax dollars. That means focusing on services that are core to our city, prioritizing what those are, and successfully and efficiently delivering those services to our taxpayers.

Distracted by the appointment of an emergency manager, we have lost sight of the fact that this city is in a fiscal crisis. And whether it is the current mayor, a new mayor or an emergency manager, our city has some harsh realities to face in the very near future to put this fiscal crisis behind us. Only then can we focus on what we aspire to be.

Benny Napoleon is Wayne County Sheriff and has formed a committee to explore running for mayor of Detroit.